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HR issues

Internal communications during a workplace related crisis

Rob Ford fired his Chief of Staff, Mark Towhey and Steven Harper accepted the “resignation” of his Chief of Staff, Nigel Wright, the week of May 23, 2013 which has surely been the one of the worst weeks for Chiefs of Staff in Canada for a while.

 

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Just Us Coffee Co-op – Balancing fair trade and worker rights

On Sunday, April 28, 2013, there was a demonstration outside the Just Us Coffee’s office in Grand Pré to support two former employees of an outlet in Halifax, Nova Scotia, who claim that the fair trade company fired them for attempting to organize their co-workers.

 

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RBC’s temporary foreign worker debacle

In the wake of the RBC’s temporary foreign worker debacle, and Prime Minister Harper’s temporary foreign worker program reform, what are the implications of outsourcing Canadian jobs in favour of temporary foreign workers? The implications for Canadian workers and recruitment are telling.

 

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Hollywood health and safety horrors

Think workplace safety concerns only impact employees in traditional industries? Think again. Even well-known Hollywood stars can be impacted by a lack of due diligence in their workplaces. Here are some of the celebrities who have been involved in a serious workplace accident.

 

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Workplace flexiblity outside of Silicon Valley

The recently publicized news regarding the ban of telecommuting at Yahoo has ensued in a debate about the benefits of flexible work from home versus the requirement to come into work. However the first thought to cross my mind was that this flexible work arrangement only applies to a very small and privileged sector of employees. For example, working in healthcare, I am very aware of the fact that this debate doesn’t apply to nurses or personal support workers.

 

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Yahoo CEO tells employees: stop telecommuting

The news trending in the last couple of days is that Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer announced, in an internal memo, that the company will no longer allow telecommuting. As a result, Yahoo employees with work-from-home arrangements will be required to work out from a company office. The memo was leaked by a very irked employee and sparked debate on the pros and cons of working from home.

 

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Repeat of HRLaw: End of the year wrap up and other legislative changes effective January 1, 2013

We are repeating this December 21 blog post to ensure employers, human resources professionals, payroll specialists, legal advisors, managers and supervisors among others start 2013 on the right foot.

 

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Social media policy – if you don’t have one, get one!

The story about the Ontario man fired from a retail store due to insensitive online posts about the death of Amanda Todd, is not the first time we’ve seen a story like this.

 

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Workplace policies to avoid the holiday party hangover

With the holiday season fast approaching, employers are consistently reminded of the additional risks and liabilities which may result from an employer-sponsored holiday event. Nevertheless, holiday parties and events are often considered to be an essential “benefit” expected by employees.

 

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Collective agreement sets out new terms for a new day at the pulp and paper plant in Port Hawkesbury NS

On July 9, 2012, the Nova Scotia Labour Board filed an interim order certifying Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union, Local 972, the combination of three previously separate bargaining units, namely the Mill Division, Clerical Division and the Woodlands Division, as the bargaining unit for employees of the NewPage pulp and paper plant in Port Hawkesbury NS.

 

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Critical accountabilities and performance management

Job descriptions have many uses, the most obvious being to describe key responsibilities and serve as a basis for salary or pay. However, a job description has the potential to deliver far more than this…

 

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Bias in interviews and the importance of ability testing

According to Susan J. Herman, author of Hiring Right, A Practical Guide, the interview is the most frequently used selection tool and the least valid and reliable. Validity is the degree to which a selection tool like testing or interviewing measures what it is supposed to measure. The closer a statistic is to 1, the more valid it is. Yet interviews have an average validity of 0.14 while ability testing has an average validity of 0.53.

 

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The HR long game

For many in the human resources function, every day is a series of reactions and responses to events. The experience of work is the constant juggle of urgent demands to hire people, sort out employment issues, deal with grievances or conflicts, resolve pay demands or other requests. All of these activities are important and urgent and place an immediate call on our attention and action. This experience creates a habit, where new information is reviewed with a bias to action or crisis. If there is nothing urgent or important here then the information can be ignored—there is nothing to do…

 

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Introducing guest blogger Marcia Scheffler

We are happy to welcome Marcia Scheffler to our roster of regular bloggers at First Reference Talks.

 

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Can I be disciplined for off-duty behaviour?

“I am at a party on my day off and a coworker hurls racial insults at me or makes sexual suggestive comments to me.” Am I protected by my employer’s harassment and discrimination policy? Likewise, if I am the one doing the hurling or suggestive commenting, am I subject to discipline under my employer’s policies?

 

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